Upon hearing his voice, Justin narrowed his eyes. He wanted to say he didn’t need it—he wanted to hear it from Iris instead—but he suddenly paused.
Iris would never tell him about her grievances. He would only be able to hear about her grievances from others.
For example, Iris would probably never tell him why she liked orchids because she had never been a woman who knew how to express her feelings.
Justin thought about it and said, “Okay, speak.”
In a villa in the outskirts of New York.
Herman and Lauren sat on the sofa.
Lauren was looking at Herman, who said, “You probably only know that I cheated on your mother with Lauren back then, so all this time, you must have thought that all the problems with our marriage lie with me, right?”
Herman’s words gave voice to the mentality that most women held—that every man who cheated was a scumbag.
Justin lowered his eyes, but he sneered, “You are wrong.”
Herman was taken aback.
Justin said, “You are not a good husband, and at the same time, you are not a good father either.”
Many people thought that once a man cheated, he would no longer be a good father.
But that wasn’t necessarily true.
Some men might cheat on their wives a lot, but they wouldn’t hold back on their love for their children. Perhaps the cheating itself might affect the children, but even so, they would still try to make up for it later.
Besides, some married couples were indeed not suitable to stay together. Even if they had children, those who needed to divorce would still divorce each other. However, the divorce did not affect their love for their children.
But this wasn’t true in Herman’s case.
Not only had he cheated and hurt Iris, but he had also left Justin to fend for himself afterward. It was as if he’d never had a son like him.
He hadn’t just let Iris down, but also Justin.
Herman was stunned for a while. Then, he tried to explain himself. “Justin, it’s not that I didn’t care about you, or that I did not love you…”
“At your age, you shouldn’t keep going on and on about things like love and romance.”
Justin dissed him mercilessly again.
Herman: “…”
Justin said concisely, “Just tell me the reason.”
Herman spent a while organizing his thoughts. Finally, he sighed and said, “Justin, I know I’ve neglected you, but you have to understand. I did all that because your mother cheated on me first! I am a man, how could I let someone cuckold me? That’s why I went to Lauren! Don’t be fooled by how Iris looks as if she’s at peace with the world! She is not as indifferent to fame and fortune as she makes herself out to be!”
Iris had cheated on Herman?
Stunned, Justin suddenly looked at the woman in the kitchen.
Herman took a deep breath. “She had found another man outside. I couldn’t condone her behavior, so I filed for a divorce. When your grandpa wanted to keep you in the family, I couldn’t just let her sit back and enjoy the rewards of her success, and even hog my family’s business on top of that. Besides, all she could think of was that man, so I made a request—that she would leave you alone. You were still young at that time, and I was afraid that she would usurp your power and become the real master of the Hunts. Justin, I schemed and did all this for your own good!”
Justin frowned.
Herman’s argument might sound seamless and completely logical at first hearing but in truth?
If what he said was true, why did Iris spend all these years in agony in the suburban villa instead of going to her adulterous lover and keeping him company? He sneered, “Do you think I will believe that?”
Herman also panicked. “I have evidence!”
Justin asked, “What evidence?”
He was already biased towards Iris at the moment and was highly disapproving of Herman’s statement. If that was really the reason, then Iris’s decision to ignore him would really be too absurd.
While he was feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing, Herman said, “Those orchids! Those orchids are the evidence! She didn’t like orchids at all in the past. You should remember that there were barely any orchids at home when you were young, but look at how she started to take care of so many orchids after she moved to the suburbs! It’s exactly because her lover loves orchids! Ha, because I trapped her in New York, she couldn’t meet her lover anymore, so she could only pour all her yearning and pining into the orchids instead!”
Justin: !!
What smooth logic!
If Nora hadn’t told him just now why Iris was keeping so many orchids, he’d probably really have become suspicious.
But now…
Justin scoffed. “Is that so?”
Herman said, “Yes, everything I said is true. Justin, Dad has actually been very worried about you and has done a lot for you, so don’t be so distant towards me. I know I have never shown you any fatherly love, but I can give that to you in the future…”
“I don’t need it.”
Justin straight-up rejected him. “Is there anything else?”
Herman said, “I want to visit your grandmother tomorrow, she’s my mother after all. Tell the people at home to let me in!”
Justin scoffed. “Nice try. You can forget about ever entering the Hunt Manor for the rest of your life.”
He wanted to hang up after saying that, but Herman shouted, “Justin, Justin! You can’t do that to me! I did all that for you! You refuse to let me in, yet you allow Iris to enter! Tell me, did Iris bewitch you? Has she been badmouthing me all these years? No matter what, I am still your father… toot… toot… toot…”
Justin hung up on him.
Herman had called him just to sow discord between him and his mother, so as to make his way into the Hunts little by little.
In the villa.
Herman stared at his mobile phone with a frown after Justin hung up on him. He couldn’t help but curse, “That brat! Why is he so stubborn?!”
Lauren looked at him: “Is the reason you said just now true?”
Herman scoffed and said, “Half of it is, I suppose.”
Lauren rolled her eyes at once. “Aren’t you afraid that Iris will tell him the truth? It will become even more difficult for you to repair your relationship with him then!”
Herman said confidently, “She won’t.”
Lauren was taken aback.
A self-mocking Herman said, “Because if she does, it would bring great trouble to her son. That’s why she will never say it.”
It was only after Iris and Mrs. Landis made a total of six dishes that the three of them finally sat down.
Iris wanted Mrs. Landis to eat with them, but the latter took her food and went into the kitchen instead of eating at the same table with them.
After the three of them sat down, Justin stared at Iris. Suddenly, her cell phone rang.
She was taken aback for a moment, seemingly never expecting anyone to call her.
But when she looked down at the phone, it turned out to be an unfamiliar number…
Iris’s hand started shaking and she rejected the call immediately.
However, the other party persisted and kept calling
Iris became obviously nervous. She stared hard at the phone, as though the caller hailed from the depths of hell itself.
